Gay New Mexico State Senator Jacob Candelaria (right) and her husband (left) are currently in hiding (Jacob Candelaria / Instagram)
New Mexico State Senator Jacob Candelaria was forced to flee his home and go into hiding with her husband after receiving a series of homophobic threats for criticizing an unmasked Republican event
Candelaria, who represented District 26 of New Mexico, was the first gay man to serve in the New Mexico State Legislature
He served for three terms and is currently running for re-election But he started receiving threatening phone calls after he publicly criticized “a super-spreader event in the state capital” hosted by the Republican Party from New Mexico, where participants did not wear masks or practice social distancing
Candelaria quickly began to receive threatening and homophobic phone calls In a post on Twitter, a man called the senator « d ** k-sucking, piece of f ** k Democrat shit head »
This caller called earlier in the evening No threat, but again not a call your family wants to receive at 10:08 p.m. picTwittercom / IaMJxt8OOG
In another, a man can be heard saying: « Jacob Candelaria, I was a Democrat before you were born
« You don’t know what it means to be American You’re a stupid fucking mother, and we’re going to get you out somehow F ** k you »
At 12:35 am I received this death threat I called the APD and the mayors’ office, no response No help 13 hours later and no police assistance imageTwittercom / auMuKHGnOf
Jacob Candelaria, who lived with her husband in Albuquerque, told Out from the undisclosed place they are now hiding: “This call had nothing to do with making me quit. to do with pulling me out of the office «
He also said the phone number the disturbing threat came from was linked to a man suspected of being warrant pending for aggravated assault against a family member
To make matters worse, Candelaria said he received little help from authorities When he called 911 he said the police promised they would arrive within the hour, but that he hadn’t come for 14 hours
« I had to beg them to introduce themselves, » he said, claiming that when the police finally heard the threatening messages, they said they were « open to interpretation »
Candelaria also alleged that when police contacted the alleged appellant, who told them he did not want to harm the Senator, he was believed by authorities because he « had promised a little finger «
He wrote on Twitter: “For 33 years I believed that if my family needed help the police would be there to protect us. For eight years as a senator I thought our safety was surely a top priority
For 33 years I believed that if my family needed help the police would be there to protect us For 8 years as a senator I thought our safety was surely a top priority None of these things are no longer true
If it can happen to my family, it can happen to any of us in the #nmleg @NMSenateDems @NMHouseGOP @NMHouseDems
Gilbert Gallegos, spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, told The Associated Press that state police are investigating
Jacob Candelaria, United States Senate, New Mexico State Senator, Democratic Party, Mary Kay Papen
News from around the world – UK – Gay senator forced to hiding after homophobic threats The police « promised a little finger » to the man who warned « we are going to have you »
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com